“Tourism and Arts Ministry is dead”
Dear Editor,
First and for most, not to pretend nor hiding, the Ministry of Tourism and Art has now become completely dead and is one of the government sector which has died with an artificial death in the three years period under the PF government regime.
Yes, it is true to say that the problems began in the former government regime but it has finally been killed by the current PF government regime which even before coming into power had negative attitude towards conservation of wildlife and natural resources.
To continue with, the problems that have been seen with the Ministry of Tourism and the wildlife sector began in the time of MMD government but at least they were minimal and people had hope that may be the coming of the other government the same little problems would be eliminated once and for all.
The existence of these problems has been all about poor or ineffective leadership in the Tourism Ministry sector.
However, things became opposite and even worse to the hope of the many people when the PF government came into power and Mr Given Lubinda was appointed as the Minister of Information and Tourism. During that time when the former minister Hon Given Lubinda was in charge, nothing moved on progress and nothing changed. Problems remained as they were and no direction given to the sector as it contradicts his name as Given.
The Tourism Sector and Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) started seeing and feeling changes and progresses when Sylvia Masebo was appointed as the Minister in charge of the sector. Although the former minister had her own weaknesses, but Hon Sylvia Masebo is the only Minister who had been seen as having vision and direction for the sector and had it been that the PF government has a good leadership, the leadership that understand things in a wide range, Hon Sylvia Masebo was not going to be fired from the position as the minister in charge and therefore if there things which she did not do well in order to please her master, she was then just going to be advised on how to do them so as to appease her master.
This can be so because no human being can be 100% correct in all the doings and this is impossible. For instance, if the president was appointed and not elected, am very sure that the current President was going to be the first President in the history to be fired within or less than one year period because of many things he has failed the people of Zambia and I cannot manage to mention them here for I would take many pages just to elaborate on them. But fortunately, the loving people of Zambia know them all and that they are just waiting for 2016 to come which also seems to be far but it’s very near.
The Tourism and wildlife sector went back where it was and finally killed when Hon Sylvia Masebo was fired and replaced by Hon Jean Kapata as the minister In Charge. Fortunately, I have interacted with both of them Sylvia Masebo and Jean Kapata and I happen to know them well.
Hon Minister Jean Kapata is a cadre who is at the same time learning government works and therefore does not deserve to be given any Ministerial position or if is to please her may be just Deputy position may be.
For instance, for how long has it taken her to form the ZAWA Board and still up to now it’s not yet in place, why?ZAWA need to have the board than any other government corporate institution because the problems it is going through. Since Hon Jean Kapata was appointed how many Ministerial statements has she have made or changes and progresses, in the light of ZAWA facing many challenges, nothing.
Unless there should be quick attention and actions taken by the government, there will be no wildlife in the period of five years to come as now through the sales of game meat has become the source of living for Wildlife Police Officers and CRBs Scouts country wide. I wish the government and parliament can take this very, very seriously or we lose our animals so fast.
This is the fact and if ZAWA officials dispute with this fact it means as usual as they just want to protect their jobs. There are number of factors or reasons for this and some of these are the following:
Currently as you read this, Staff and CRB Scouts have got up paid arrears ranging from four (4) to five (5) months.
This is one major reason for doing that as they search for their families’ survival. It is been said that if a parent eat first and always then he or she won’t know whether his or her children have eaten or not. In this case despite Zambia Wildlife Staff and CRBs Scouts not been paid for such months, the President, Tourism Minister and Finance Minister they are all fatedly paid every month and nothing that worries them as this seems not to be their problems.
Wildlife Police Officers and CRBs Officers are one of lowest paid officers in the government ranking despite the introduction of minimum wage as their salaries are ranging from K700 to K1, 600.
For the CRBs officers’ things even worse as these employees do not have terminal benefits at the end of their job in their life time as they have also no any access to get loans from financial lending institutions. They all get K700 across as their month salaries on the paper but the fact is they always get paid after having worked for four or five months and yet they are the ones who do actual conservation on the ground.
Finally, they have no or very little allowances they get regardless of the extra jobs they do but their bosses whatever a little extra job they do, then they get huge allowances. What a demotivation is this?
Therefore, I have some of these questions I want to ask and urgently need answers:
Mr President and the PF party in government , did you come into power so as to kill tourism sector or to conserve and improve for the better?
Hon Minister, Jean Kapata, are Wildlife Police Officers and CRBs Scouts animals that they do not need anything for them to live as you live or they are also human being and have got families to look after like you? Am sure you will agree with me that they too have families they sponsor to school then how do you think they pay for the schools fees just as you pay for your kids?
Hon Minister of Labour, Mr Fackson Shamenda, the self-proclaimed intelligent Minister of labor, tell the nation whether it is in order with the PF government to have CRBs officers working for four to five months after that’s when they get paid? Is this normal with the PF government, to have CRBs officers working for fifteenth years and get no benefits at the end of employment? Or to have CRBS officers who have no access to loans from financial lending institutions?
Kindly the Minister I need the answers from these questions asked above. I am Zambian citizen who have right to know what happening in my country. My name is not all that important but what is important is these facts mentioned above which I need you to address them so quickly. I beg you to hide my name. Thank you once again for the credible job that you are doing for the nation.
May God bless the President so that he has good health to work well.